Most Influential rock albums of all time: Horses (Patti Smith)

Patti Smith hit the music seen with a bang in 1975 with her debut album Horses. Often cited as one of the most influential albums of all time, it is seen as one of the albums that helped pioneer the Punk Rock sound, especially in the New York Punk scene.

Patti Smith was influenced by some of the other bands around in New York that also helped make Punk Rock a more mainstream sound. With the likes of The Ramones and Blondie she helped shape a new genre of rock that would combine with the likes of The Clash and ultimately The Sex Pistols to catapult Punk Rock out of the underground into the mainstream.

What really makes Horses stand out, aside from the fact that it helped form the foundation of modern punk, is that Patti Smith brought her own brand of angst and poetry to her lyrics and with her voice and strangely mellow sounds created a pretty unique sound that was complicated, subtle and somehow really hit your soul deeply.

The energy seems to flow from every song, and the angst, fear and resentment of society simply dripped from each song as Patti Smith added her vibrant commentary to the punk scene. Sexual undertones cast a strange balance somehow that talked of life and desire and seemed almost contrary to the angst.

Patti Smith seemed to pour herself into Horses, her style taking the best from punk and adding a strange beat (reggae I guess) that really changed and melded it into a new sound that was raw and energetic. The album is full of surreal metaphors and stark images that invade the mind and really take a while to make any kind of sense.

The sound that came out was both profound and actually in a way timid and innocent as it almost had a pleading loving appeal – there is no doubt that this sound, a sound born in Patti Smith’s head and transferred with the help of a strange cornucopia of musicians, influenced the future of punk.

In my eye, this album is not only a major influence on punk, but it is one of the most influential rock albums of all time.

Tracks

• Gloria (5:57) (Part I: In Excelsis Deo, Part II: Gloria)
• Redondo Beach (3:26)
• Birdland (9:15)
• Free Money (3:52)
• Kimberly (4:27)
• Break It Up (4:04)
• Land (9:25) (Part I: Horses, Part II: Land of a Thousand Dances, Part III: La Mer (De) )
• Elegie (2:57)

Band

• Patti Smith (vocals, guitar)
• Jay Dee Daugherty (drums)
• Lenny Kaye (guitar, bass guitar, vocals)
• Ivan Kral (bass guitar, guitar, vocals)
• Richard Sohl (keyboards)